Cable merger could affect York viewers

Time Warner and Comcast merge

Comcast Corp. will buy Time Warner Cable Inc. for about $45.2 billion in a deal that would combine the nation's top two cable TV companies and create a dominant force in creating and delivering entertainment.

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Posted Feb. 15, 2014 at 2:00 AM

Posted Feb. 15, 2014 at 2:00 AM

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Comcast Corp. will buy Time Warner Cable Inc. for about $45.2 billion in a deal that would combine the nation's top two cable TV companies and create a dominant force in creating and delivering entertainment.

Locally, this deal would affect customers in York, Maine, who are Time Warner subscribers. All other Seacoast towns contract with Comcast for cable services.

The all-stock deal, which was approved by the boards of both companies, trumps a proposal from Charter Communications to buy Time Warner Cable for about $38 billion. It is expected to close by the end of the year, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. The combined entity will end up with about 30 million subscribers, as the two companies already have strongholds in major markets like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Comcast has 22 million pay TV customers but plans to divest 3 million after the deal closes. Time Warner Cable will contribute 11.2 million customers.

Comcast also is taking the position that because Comcast and Time Warner Cable don't serve overlapping markets, their combination won't reduce competition for consumers. Comcast operates in Chicago and mainly in Northeast markets that also include Boston, Washington and its home base of Philadelphia. Time Warner Cable has strongholds around its headquarters in New York as well in Los Angeles, Dallas and Milwaukee.